


Overwatch Drabbles and Short Oneshots

by jessejackreyes



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Allergies, Angry Cyborg, Arm Wrestling, Chocolate, Flowers, Helpful Supportive Jack, Little prompts to practice, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Omnic Hatred, Origami, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pet Lover Jack, Pining, Ratings subject to change, Trash Child, jesse tries, spirit dragons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-10-09 07:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10407081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessejackreyes/pseuds/jessejackreyes
Summary: Taking prompts as part of a writing practice and decided to post them here together as well as on tumblr. Will be lots of pairings and probably also gen fics. It depends on the prompts I get.Ch1: McReyes: Infatuation and AllergiesCh2: Hanzo76: Of Men and DragonsCh3: Gen, Genji and McCree: Cowboys and Ninjas Down UnderCh4: Zarya/Genji: Working Out





	1. McReyes: Infatuation and Allergies

Jesse was fucked, not that it was anything new, but still it was worth repeating. Commander Reyes had been in a bad mood and of course the cowboy can't help but notice that he isn't just irritated or angry, something has him legitimately upset. So what does he do? He goes out and buys the man a bunch of wildflowers to try to make the super soldier feel better. 

It was stupid, but they smelled wonderful and he hoped that they would brighten up his office and his day. Gabe worked too long and too hard as it was already, the least McCree could do was to try to help alleviate a bit of that stress with some cheer. And, if he still held onto the old crush he had on his commander the past few years, well nobody had to know that was a part of the reason. It's not like he was getting the man a bouquet of red roses. Jesse McCree may not always be the smartest guy in the room, but even he wasn't stupid enough to try something that forward.

It was easier than he had feared to lose his nerve on the way to meet the man, but luckily he had a plan b just in case. All he had to do was sneak into the commander's office while he was out for any number of reasons and leave the flowers in a vase on the man's desk with a note and retreat before the man returned. The note was unsigned, it merely read ‘I hope these brighten up your day.’

Breaking into his superior's office used to be a nerve wracking experience that would leave the cowboy paranoid for the rest of the day at least. Today however, he felt lighter than air after having done so. The thought of Reyes returning to find a face of colorful and wonderful smelling flowers to brighten his dreary mood raised the younger agents own spirits considerably. There wasn't a damn thing that could dampen his mood, at least until he found himself in the mess hall that night.

That was when he saw it. The vase of flowers he had snuck into Gabriel's room had been thrown into the trash in the communal mess hall. He tried not to let it show, but the silent rejection hurt far more than he would ever admit. Those soaring spirits fell, hard and fast. The cowboy hadn't felt this lost and hurt since Reyes dragged him kicking and screaming out of Deadlock almost six years ago. Without even realizing it McCree had lost track of time, snapping back into focus when a familiar voice startled him.

“Jesse!” The strike commander's voice pulled him back to reality and he had to stifle a groan. He was not in the mood to handle other people right now, especially not Jack. The man was always to good at picking up on McCree's moods and always wanted to help. “You look like shit kid,” Jesse found that he couldn't return the man's playful grin.

“Sorry sir. Bad day,” Was all he could bring himself to say. He shrugged and tried to keep moving, away from the blonde. If he could make it to his room he would be safe.

“Come with me Jesse!” The strike commanders tone was hard and commanding suddenly. He wanted to scream It was the voice he used that demanded obedience. McCree had even seen it work on Reyes from time to time, no one but Jack Morrison could do that. It really meant that there was no getting out of this without dealing with whatever Morrison wanted.

It took the cowboy several minutes to realize that Jack wasn't leading him to his office, they were nearing the commander’s private quarters instead. That was new, he could count on one hand the number of times he had seen any commander's room. He had figured he was in trouble, now he wasn't so sure and that just made him even more nous than before.

Eventually they went inside. Jack had a big room, that was the first thing the younger agent thought as they passed the threshold. It was decorated with pictures more than anything else. He took the seat he was offered as Morrison left the room briefly in, leaving Jesse to free to scan around the room. Most of the pictures were of their team members and their families, Jack was in many, but nowhere near all of them. The man looked like he loved the company and the memories. Jesse's confusion as to what he was doing here redoubled when the blonde returned handing him a beer.

“Thank ya kindly,” He drawled taking the proffered drink. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't going to question not being in trouble and drinking with his boss. Jack indeed joined him, the two of them drinking in silence for a few minutes. It was a pleasant change. Jesse hadn't spent any amount of time just relaxing the commander Morrison in years, they were both busy. Hell he barely got to see Ana and Fareeha these days.

“So, you left Reyes some flowers today?” The accusation hung heavily in the air. The blonde’s voice was soft, but it had McCree on edge. Jack did not respond well to lies, even still Jesse was tempted.

“Yes sir,” He slumped defeated at the admission.

“Allergies,”

“Huh?”

“He's allergic. That's why he threw them away,” The blonde explained softly. “Even as a super soldier he never got over it, just handles it better than he used to. Shame too, he actually likes flowers,”

“Shit, so I got him sick?” Now the cowboy was worried Reyes was going to think he was trying to mess with him or something.

“Nah he's fine. If you're trying to brighten his day chocolates work wonders. He’ll never admit it but he's got a huge sweet tooth,”

“Why are you giving me advice,”

“One, I like you. Two, we've tried to help, maybe you'll be able to cheer him up. Three, He likes you,” Jesse wished he had more control then and there, because he couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot at the thought.

“Any idea where I can find some chocolates?” Jesse asked quickly, deflecting the attention away from his grin and the burning in his face. 

“I've got a nice box of Swiss chocolates,” The cowboy raised an eyebrow. “What? You didn't think I called you here without a plan did you?” He quickly retrieved the sweets, still cold from the refrigerator. “I've also got a sweet tooth, but this is a good cause.”

“Thanks Jack!” Jesse jumped out of his seat excitedly. “Sorry to run, but I've got a great idea to go with these chocolates and I gotta run,”

“Good luck Jesse!” The blonde called after him with a soft smile on his lips as the man in the Stetson dashed down the hallway like a bat outta hell.

His best friend in this place should be around here somewhere. He needed Genji's help for the second part of this gift/apology. Eventually, he found the cyborg in the middle of one of his checkups. He ambushed the other man as soon as he stepped out of Angela's clutches.

“I need your help Genji,” He said way too fast.

“What's wrong?” The cyborg asked both annoyed and concerned.

“I need you to help me make some of those pretty paper flowers like you showed me a while back,”

“Why?” The ninja asked, at least slightly confused.

“Because I messed up and I need to apologize but he's allergic to real flowers and this is the next best thing I could think of,” McCree was sure that Genji would likely make fun of him, but as long as he helped him it wouldn't matter too much. 

“Okay, I don't have the best selection of paper right now, but come on I'm sure we can get something vaguely respectable still. I mean we have to try real hard to impress the commander,” Jesse rolled his eyes, he could feel the eyebrow wiggle that the cyborg must have been doing underneath his mask. If that was as far as the teasing went this was going to be easy.

Jesse had to wait until dinner that evening for his commander to leave his office again before he could sneak back in and set his second plan in motion. When his commander got back he would find a nice box of Swiss chocolate in the midst of a pseudo bouquet of brilliant, and not so brilliant paper flowers. His note this time read ‘Sorry about the flowers. Didn't know they would be a problem. Hope you like these ones a might better. -McCree’ 

He would never have found the nerve to sign his name if Jack hadn't mentioned that Gabe liked him too, at least he hoped the strike commander meant it like that. He hoped it wasn't too forward, I mean it was just a feel better gift after all. It was no big deal. The next morning he caught a glance of the man smiling that hard, barely there smile he wore when he was in a good mood, eating a bit of sweet chocolate. Jesse nearly melted on the spot. Yeah, he was so very fucked alright.


	2. Hanzo76: Of Men and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spirit dragons like the man Hanzo is low key crushing on more than they like the archer they are bound to.

A sudden pressure on his startled him out of his surprisingly good night's sleep. In the heart of Watchpoint Gibraltar he should be perfectly safe. The thought briefly crossed his mind as his body reacted on instinct in expectation of danger. Hanzo rolled out of bed, his hand finding its way to the handgun he kept under his pillow as he slept, the one 76 had given him in case he was ever caught without his bow. He had stubbornly argued against it, but the old soldier was as stubborn as a dragon and at times like this it was hard to argue against the usefulness of the sidearm.

He brought his gun to bare against the intruder as soon as his feet hit the floor. Instead of an enemy seeking to kill him, or even one of his allies in Overwatch bothering him for some ridiculous reason, he found himself staring at two small floating blue spirit dragons that seemed unperturbed that he had pulled a weapon on them. His jaw dropped uncharacteristically at the surprise visit. 

“Ute? Tsume?” The question fell softly from his lips. He had not seen them in this form in over ten years. Since the day he had felled his brother in cold blood they had not deigned to show themselves outside of battle. A surge of various emotions flowed through him rapidly, relief, joy, fear, concern. He was not sure what their appearance truly meant, he found himself hoping that it was a good sign. 

Ute, the larger and less intense of the two, despite the name that suggested otherwise, gently wrapped itself around Hanzo's neck, resting comfortably like a heavy scarf, it's face settled comfortably in the crook of the archer’s neck. Hanzo let out a deep sigh of relief at this action, relieved that his dragons would act so calmly and gently, despite everything he had done. Stuns was content to settle on the bed, watching Hanzo's every move. 

There was no way that the archer was getting back to sleep after this turn of events. At the very least it was only about an hour before he usually woke up, so he would just start his day early. Ute didn't seem to want to let him dress properly or shower or do much of anything he would normally do to get ready for the day.

“Ute, may I get dressed?” The dragon let out an annoyed huff at the mere suggestion of leaving its chosen perch and Hanzo was left to grumble, but accept that he wasn't getting his normal routine done today. Instead of sitting around and getting upset over the turn of events, he decided to head out and get himself something to eat before anyone showed up in the mess to notice his state of dress and hygiene.

Thinking about all of the time he had spent here, he really should have expected 76 to already be there. He should have, but he didn't. He hadn't really been thinking very straight since his dragons had woken him up. Jack was still wearing his mask, something Hanzo could understand and appreciate even if others criticized him for the choice. Even after his identity had been revealed, the former commander still preferred to keep his face behind a mask.

The masked face cocked to the side at the sight of Hanzo's arrival, an understandable response given the guests he brought with him. Tsume chirped excitedly as the masked man looked over the new arrivals. Before Jack could form the words in the question he wanted to ask, the dragon that was not currently wrapped around Hanzo's neck flew across the room to meet this new person. 

“Tsume do not!” The exasperated archer tried, but there was no stopping the excited little spirit dragons when they set their mind to something. Multiple fears ran through his mind as the scene before him threatened to play out. Jack could react poorly, expecting Tsume to be dangerous, which Hanzo couldn't really say for sure that he wasn't. Tsume could also hurt the man, either accidentally or on purpose.

The old soldier stiffened at the sudden approach, but made no move to harm the excited and potentially dangerous spirit creature. If Hanzo hadn't been there it probably would have been a different story, but Jack didn't even flinch as the unfamiliar beast wrapped itself languidly around his own neck in a mirror form to Ute.

“This is new,” Jack responded simply to the strange blue creature that adorned him like a gaudy clothing accessory. 

“They have not done this in many years,” Hanzo explained. Everyone in Overwatch knew about the dragons, but very few knew anything about them manifesting outside of battle. Even Genji's does so rarely and only around certain people.

“They dangerous like this?” The soldier inquired, trying to understand the situation as best he could.

“Slightly,”

“Long as they don't cause trouble I don't really mind,” Tsume purred loudly at Jack's words. Jack proceeded to feed the dragon scarf some sausage he had been eating. The breakfast the super soldier makes himself everyday was huge. He apparently had to eat a lot of food to keep up with his metabolism and it seemed Tsume got to enjoy the spoils of such a large appetite. It didn't take long for Ute to get jealous of the food and attention and abandon Hanzo as he made himself some tea.

“I am sorry about them,” Hanzo apologized as the man was harassed by two spirit dragons begging for food that they didn't even need to eat.

“It's no trouble,” Jack told him shrugging softly. “They've saved my life a few times already. That is worthy of at least a little food don't you think?” The look the two dragons shot Hanzo at the words of praise and understanding coming from the masked soldier could only be described as smugly superior. Their gazes settled on the archer for just a few seconds before they went back to competing over Jack for food and attention.

Hanzo had not expected Jack to handle Tsume and Ute so well. He knew the man had a lot of pets growing up while Hanzo had not had any, but he didn't expect that to translate so well to handling immortal spirit beings. They listened to the older man, seemed to enjoy when he pet them. They had never been very obedient when they were like this in his youth, but they seemed to like Jack more than they did the man they were bonded to.

Hanzo ate his own small breakfast trying to explain as much as he knew about the form that his dragons had taken to 76. The white haired man really seemed to enjoy the time spent with the little troublemakers. As breakfast wound down Hanzo decided it might be in his best interest to try to get them back to his room, out of Jack's hair and try to get a shower and some new clothes if he could manage it.

“Ute, Tsume, we should go.” The dragons growled at him at the mere suggestion of leaving the room. He walked up to the two of them, willing to drag them with him if he had to. “You are bothering him. Let him eat in peace. We will be back here later,” Tsume bit him as he reached out to try to grab onto one of them, the bite was hard enough to draw a bit of blood. He pulled his hand back in surprise and pain.

“They can stay, I don't mind. You should go and get yourself cleaned up,”

“Are you sure? They can be quite difficult,”

“They're fine. I'm sure everyone would love to meet them. Plus I doubt they are going to go easily at this rate anyway.” The dragons keener as Jack continued to defend their choices. Yeah, they definitely liked the older man more than they ever had liked Hanzo. Sighing in defeat Hanzo returned to his room to ready himself for the day ahead. He was exhausted before he ever made it to the shower.


	3. Cowboys and Ninjas Down Under

The ride was uncharacteristically turbulent. Yeah there was more shaking than usual, but that wasn't really the source of their problems. No, that would be the moody cyborg ninja pacing back and forth and muttering loudly in Japanese. Genji was clearly very irritated and it looked like he wanted everyone else to know it in intimate detail.

No one on board made any move to do anything about it though. The mood simply grew more tense. Commander Reyes wasn’t here, so there was no one quite capable of reigning the angry Shimada in if he happened to get a little violent, so people accepted the discomfort. Jesse found several sets of eyes on him, pleading silently for him to calm the Japanese man down.

“Genji,” McCree started with a sigh. The cyborg turned to face him for a moment in recognition before returning to his pacing. “You're gonna wear a hole in the floor if ya keep that up,”

The cyborg ignored the cowboy and continued his pacing. McCree rose from his seat with a sigh reaching out to place his hand on Genji’s shoulder. The ninja tensed under his touch and for a moment the entire squad seemed to be expecting violence. In fact, if it had been anyone else there likely would have been. But when the ninja turned and saw Jesse’s worried face he relaxed a bit and sighed instead.

“Come on Gen. Take a seat,”

“I did not join this organization to run all over the world,” He did not sit down, but he had stopped his pacing.

“I know, but the boss is working on the Shimada thing. You'll be there in no time, just gotta wait a bit. This’ll keep you from going crazy waiting,”

“Fine,” Genji resigned taking a seat near McCree. “But I won’t be happy about it,”

“Aww and here I thought I would get to see that pretty smile o’ yours,” The cowboy smirked as the other man punched him in the arm. “We're almost there and maybe we’ll see some action,”

“It's a scouting mission Jesse. We're just here to observe and report back on the situation,” 

“Yeah, exactly the kind of routine mission that is just begging to become a clusterfuck before it's over,”

“And people say I watched too many movies,”

“No such thing as too many movies Gen, no such thing,” He responded, face appalled at the very notion. The tension in the room eased as Genji chuckled softly at the man’s shameless antics.

They split into pairs as soon as they arrived, Jesse was volunteered by the entire squad to pair up with the cyborg. He was the only person Genji seemed to like and nobody wanted to deal with a moody violent half machine ninja with a temper. Not that he minded much, despite everything he liked the angry Japanese kid. They would get along just fine for the duration of this mission.

There had been rumors of trouble brewing across Australia. Not just any trouble, the kind between humans and Omnics and that never led anywhere good. The source of it was likely the amount of land that was ceded to the Omnics as a result of the crisis, many Australians did not take kindly to the concession. It was supposedly getting worse and Overwatch needed to know what the situation on the ground was.

That was why Blackwatch was here. Investigate the groups involved and report back so that the organization could figure out the best way to respond. Hopefully, they could manage it before things went too far. They were trying to prevent a conflict now before it got too far off the ground. This sort of job was not really in Genji’s boathouse, but he could likely pass for an Omnic and they could use that to get information from that side more easily.

“I do not like this Jesse,” Genji announced on the way to their safe house.

“I know Gen, but it's important, otherwise Reyes would never of asked,” the cyborg doesn't argue, he merely sighs and his head slumps in defeat before they split up. Genji would find out what was going on with the Omnic side of things while McCree checked around the human side of the border.

When he heard nothing for a few days, Jesse began to worry a bit. He doubted that anything bad would happen to Genji, he has seen the man fight after all. But, he wouldn't be too surprised if the angry ninja started a fight or two and compromised his mission. He understood where the kid’s anger was coming from, but it was still an issue. He was pulled out of his worries by his communicator lighting up for the first time in days.

“Jesse, things are worse than Overwatch thinks. Many Omnics are fed up with the violence they are receiving and are prepared to respond in kind, it looks very bad,”

“Get your ass back here and we'll inform the boss as soon as we can. Hopefully Overwatch can act before something goes too wrong,”

“Might be too late,” Genji responded over the call. “They've got a kid here, maybe 12 or 14. They say he caused an explosion that killed a dozen Omnics and some of them want to return the favor,”

“They're gonna kill a kid?”

“Most of them don't want to, but the ones holding him do and everyone is on edge. They may very well make the leap Jesse,”

“It's not our problem Genji,” It physically hurt him to utter the words, but he knew what their mission was and how sometimes you have to do unsavory things for the greater good. That was a large part of what Blackwatch did after all. “Get back and we'll report what we have,”

“No,” Genji’s reply was immediate. “We are here to prevent a conflict are we not?”

“Yes Genji but...” He was interrupted before he could continue

“And what will people do in response to the Omnics killing a child Jesse?” The senior agent sighed. There was no talking the cyborg out of this because they both knew things would get much worse if that happened.

“Alright, boss is gonna kill me but where are we meeting?” He asked.

“I'll send you coordinates. Be discreet, don't want them to raise the alarm cause your Spurs jingle Eastwood,”

Jesse did not dignify that with a response. Instead, he focused on avoiding notice while he joined up with the other agent. It was simple really. Tensions were high, but there was no military or guard presence, just people worried about violence. He didn't have to avoid patrols, just the occasional civilian. They met in the shadows of a building on the outskirts of the settlement.

“He's in there, in a makeshift cell,”

“Guards?”

“Nothing to worry about. They are angry and scared civilians. I could have managed on my own, but I doubt the kid would have trusted me,” The words were bitter, but McCree ignored it for now. They had a mission to accomplish and personal problems could wait.

“I'll follow your lead then,” Genji nodded before leading them through the structure. They incapacitated two bots, nonlethally, to keep an alarm from being raised, but other than that there was no trouble at all. 

The kid was a mess. Didn’t look wounded, merely dirty, like a garbage truck had dumped its cargo on him in his sleep? He wondered how they might have mistreated the kid before forcing himself back into the present, leaning over to gently wake the kid. Genji stood out of sight as the kid shot up and attacked McCree, kicking, flailing biting, the works. The ninja silently laughed as Jesse struggled to calm the kid down.

“Oi, you ain’t no stinkin’ bot,” The kid announced, finally noticing the obvious.

“No, ‘m not,” Genji could hear the frustration in the man’s voice. “Name’s Jesse. I'm here to get you outta here,”

“Jamison,” the kid responded sticking out an arm. “Can call me Jamie,”

“Be quiet and come with me and we’ll get ya somewhere safe in no time,” He grabbed the kid’s outstretched hand and gently pulled the kid behind him. The kid followed without a fight as the Blackeatch agent made their way out, Genji making sure the path is clear while staying out of sight. “What were you doing in there anyways kid?”

“Oh, blew up a building mostly on accident and the bots got mad,” The kid responded simply. Jesse froze briefly at the reveal that the kid was in fact responsible for the explosion.

“What were you doing when the accident occurred?”

“Trying to get me bombs to work properly. Gonna need ‘me when the bots come for me. New batch worked too well though,” The kid laughed at the recollection. “Blew things sky high though. Looked great,”

Something was wrong with this kid, but Jesse didn’t have the time to deal with that. The mission still stood, make sure the kid’s death wouldn't further ignite the conflict that was already brewing here. He didn't know what to do with the kid so he took him to their safe house for the moment. He would report everything to Reyes, the commander would know what to do. All he had to do now was wait to see just how fucked he was for all of this.


	4. Working Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was very different for me to write. I hope it turned out okay.

It was inevitable Genji supposed, that in a group as diverse as the new Overwatch team there would be some tension. Knowing that intellectually and dealing with it well were two very different things though. It did not help that the angry words were being thrown, in part, at Zenyatta. Genji could handle people insulting or attacking him, but the moment it was aimed at Zenyatta it became very difficult to not do something stupid.

His master had taught him well though and he restrained himself through the Russian insults being lobbed at them. He did not need to understand the language to get the gist of what the woman was saying. The ninja found his master’s hand reassuring squeezing his shoulder and he smiled softly behind his mask. This woman who goes by Zarya was not the first person he had met still bitter about the war. The wounds had still not healed in most of the world.

Hanzo had apparently grown less patient and calm over time though and shared a few choice words of his own with the large woman. Apparently his brother did not appreciate her speaking to Genji like that, a surprise to the cyborg, but also to Zarya. It was clear she thought he was an Omnic and before anything could be said about it, she stormed off angrily.

Genji was happy to avoid the Russian whenever possible, if only to keep himself from accidentally doing something stupid. It was easy most of the time, but despite his cyborg body, he still needed to workout the parts of him that were still flesh, primarily his left arm. She stumbled into the gym as he was preparing for a workout.

“What is a metal man doing here?” She asked, voice dripping with annoyance as if he had intruded on her space.

Genji elected to ignore her as removed the parts of his exosuit that covered what was left of his body. Much of the top left half of his torso was still Intact and he worked hard to keep it in great shape. The muscles in his left arm were well defined and strong and what was left of his body was toned as it had ever been in his youth, even if the look was ruined by the machine that most of him was now.

It became difficult to ignore her staring as he moved to begin his workout routine. He had to remove the suit so that what was left of his body did most of the work instead of the suit itself, but still, people rarely saw him like this. For the most part only Zenyatta was around because Genji trusted his master more than anyone not to judge him.

“You are no Omnic?” It was a question, but also an accusation like it was Genji’s fault that she had made that assumption. He turned to face her, removing the mask plate that covered his eyes.

“No, I am not,” His stare chased her gaze away from him as he flipped himself to be standing on his hands. His right arm fell away as soon as he balanced himself and he proceeded to begin performing one armed push-ups in that position. It required strength and balance that he had trained since birth to manage, but he was more than capable.

“So you are human?”

“Somewhere in between,” His answer did not seem to placate her. She scowled and seemed to fall into her own thoughts for an extended silence.

“How am I supposed to trust someone who is half machine?” She asked finally.

“How am I supposed to trust someone who judges people they don't know anything about so quickly?” He snapped back at her, never stopping his exercise.

“You know what the Omnics did, what they are still doing to my homeland,”

“Yes, but I also know a thing or two about the history of your country. Would you think it fair for others to judge you based on that?” He felt a small swell of pride at how much he had managed to sound like Zenyatta there, less elegant perhaps, but he had the same rhetorical spirit at least.

“That is not the same thing,” Zarya replied with an angry scowl.

“I fail to see a significant difference,” He replied as he continued his routine. The room grew silent for a while until it was broken by the sounds of weight lifting. The Russian had turned to begin her own workout routine to sort out her own frustration.

Genji nearly gaped as he watched her deadlift what must have been easily 500 pounds. He'd never even seen Reinhardt manage that much without his armor helping him out. They mostly ignored each other as they finished up what they were here to do, though they both stole glances at the other when they thought no one was looking. Genji departed before Zarya finished what she was doing, leaving her without a word.

He saw neither hide nor hare of her for a few days, managing to miss her during meals and training. Genji had managed to calm down, for the most part, though letting anyone insult Zenyatta was not something he could do even if his master asked him to let it go.

They bumped into each other finally as Genji was entering the gym again one afternoon. There was a tense silence as they stared at one another, broken eventually by the Russian woman speaking.

“You seem quite strong,” Zarya said loudly in somewhat of a greeting. She continued once he had nodded in return. “What are you?” She asked him. “Man or machine?” She clarified what she was asking.

“Both, or neither. Most of my body is artificial, but the heart of a man still beats inside me. Zenyatta has helped me to accept that I do not need one of those labels. I am simply me,” The Russian woman seemed to consider his words carefully, falling silent as he spoke and for several long moments afterwards. Finally she seemed to reach some decision and spoke up.

“How about an arm wrestling match?” She asked gesturing to one of the tables nearby. The sudden offer was quite strange and surprising, but this might have been a way for her to extend an olive branch and he accepted. Zenyatta had taught him much of forgiveness.

“Wouldn't my enhancements be cheating?” He asked taking a seat across from her.

“Your left arm is human. It'll do,” As if requested he began removing the armor that covered his left arm so that they could have a fair contest.

“You're left handed?” Genji asked as he rested his elbow on the table.

“Right, but both are strong,” Her arm joined his over the table.

“Very well,” Their hands clasped together and the first thing he noticed was how strong the woman’s grip was. The second thing he noticed was how seriously she seemed to be taking this, so he decided it would likely be best if he did so too.

“We start On go,” She announced as she began a countdown.

His arm strained against her the moment they began. Genji had always been fairly strong, he had trained to fight from a young age, but he had only gotten stronger  
since his transformation. He had kept up his strength in Nepal too, so the fact that he was not so slowly losing to the woman across from him really said something about how strong she was.

They were both sweating and straining by the end of it, though the winner had been fairly obvious from the start. Dragons were a stubborn breed however and Genji would never accept defeat until the very end when the back of his hand met the table. By the end of it all his face was flush from effort, but his hand hit the metal surface all the same.

“Not bad,” Zarya told him as he rubbed his sore arm. “Must be difficult working out like that,” It might have sounded crass, but given her nature he doubted that she would be one for such backhanded insults. If she was trying to insult you she would simply do so.

“I have adapted to it,” 

“Yes, but I know we could build you up some more. Just need the right training regimen,” She fell deep into thought again as she considered her own words. “I train here every day at 1400 unless I am busy with something. Join me and we will make an arm wrestler out of you,” 

He thought the invitation to arm wrestling had been an attempt at an apology of sorts, but he knew that this was. His master was right, though that came as no surprise to him. Zenyatta had a habit of usually being right. Getting angry and lashing out at Zarya would have done nothing to help the situation that a little time and a few words could resolve.

“I will stop by if I am free,” Genji replied. “But now I have duties to attend with my master,” 

“Da I will see you tomorrow,” The bodybuilder called after him as he retreated to Zenyatta’s room. 

“Is something wrong Genji?” The monk asked as his student wandered inside unannounced.

“No, why?”

“Your faceplate is off and your face is very red,” The Omnic explained.

Genji had not noticed the flush in his face as he made his way across the base, nor that he had forgotten his faceplate and he groaned. He knew what this meant now that his master had pointed it out. It meant that he had learned another thing about himself that he didn't know. He apparently had a thing for women who could bench press him without breaking a sweat. 

Now he was both dreading and looking forward to training for a new set of reasons. Zenyatta placed a supportive hand on his shoulder as he cursed himself. Hanzo always told him that he loved a challenge when it came to his flings and that it was what made these things so difficult. His brother also had a tendency to being right more often than not, unlike Zenyatta though, Genji hated it when his brother was right.


End file.
